Cabaret – BROADWAY CAST*****

Willkommen/So What/Don’t Tell Mama/Telephone Song/Absolutely Marvellous/Two Ladies/It Couldn’t Please Me More/Tomorrow Belongs To Me/Why Should I Wake Up/The Money Song/Married/Meeskite/Entr’acte/If You Could See Her/What Would You Do/Cabaret/Finale

The Broadway musical Cabaret set in Weimar Germany starred Jill Haworth, Jack Gilford and Bert Convy. It opened at the Broadhurst Theatre in November 1966 and ran for 1,165 performances. Music by John Kander, lyrics by Fred Ebb. (US:37)

"Want to know why Cabaret is a classic? Just listen to this recording. The songs are masterfully crafted and beautifully performed by a great cast, including Joel Grey, Bert Convy, Lotte Lenya, Jack Gilford, and Jill Haworth. Though the show has undergone numerous changes since this recording was first produced, there are still no better recordings of the score than in its original form."

"Those who know Cabaret only from the popular movie version starring Liza Minnelli are missing quite a lot. The original Broadway cast recording is a delight from start to finish. The recording starts with the definitive version of Willkommen in which the sinister emcee invites us into the seemingly lovely, but downright evil world of Berlin in the early 1930s. From then on, it's a string of hits, including well known songs like Tomorrow Belongs To Me, If You Could See Her and the title song. This recording also has lesser known, but equally wonderful songs not included in the film. The movie version may be silver, but this is gold."

"The music is catchy, wickedly bawdy and full of entendre. Written by John Kander and Fred Ebb, it examines the ins and outs of cultural clash, identity and human violence. The instrumental is deceptively peppy, as if to conceal a reality that the performers are desperately trying to hide. I recommend this as an engrossing period piece, as well as a great example of the musical theatre repertoire."

"This is one of those musicals that you may perfectly describe as a landmark in the history of musicals. It helps to define the transitional period between the golden age of the fifties and the musicals that came right after. Impossible to classify it as a musical comedy, since it deals mostly with dramatic issues. It's rough, dramatic, violent stuff but so wonderfully conceived. Jill Haworth plays the immortal character of Sally Bowles with style, and her rendition of Cabaret is stunning."